Quad #Citians use #caution when using #dating #apps

It’s a tragic ending for the Lincoln, Nebraska community after weeks of searching for Sydney Loofe.

The 24-year-old was last heard from the night of November 15. Just hours before her disappearance, she posted a photo on Snapchat, saying she was excited for a date.

Loofe was supposed to be going on a second date with 23-year-old Bailey Boswell, who is now one of two suspects in Loofe’s murder. The other is Boswell’s roommate, 51-year-old Audrey Trail.

On Monday, Loofe’s body was found in a rural area.

After an online date took a tragic turn, people are thinking twice about online dating apps.

Some students at Augustana College have mixed feelings about apps like Tinder and Bumble.

“You don’t really think about it if it’s not happening to you, or someone like directly that you know. So it’s just something now to keep in mind of,” said Jenna Roecker.

Detective Mike Griffin of the Moline Police Department says while there’s plenty of perks to online dating, it’s important to be smart about it.

“Anyone can be anybody online. You could have a 60 year old guy be a 21-year-old girl online. You don’t know who you’re meeting until you see them face-to-face,” said Griffin.

But Loofe seemed to try to do the right thing, telling her friends who she was meeting and where she was going.

“It sounds like she did everything right,” said Griffin. “She told people where she was going, she told people who she was gonna meet. And she did everything right. And sometimes you know, unfortunately in the world we live in, there’s predators out there.”

For some Quad Cities college students, they say they don’t take these apps too seriously.

“I mean it’s just kind of interesting I guess to just have conversations online,” said Augustana College student, Brandy Mathews. “But some people do actually follow through and meet in person. But I don’t know if I would do that.”

And say it’s not only about staying safe, it’s also about the stigma behind online dating. .

“I don’t know, there’s kind of like the taboo of being like a ‘Tinderella,'” said Mathews.

While many will continue to try and find that special someone behind a screen, others say it’s just not a risk they’re willing to take.

“There’s definitely probably ways to prevent stuff from happening that could go wrong, but just be aware of your surroundings and who you’re with,” said Augustana College student, Elise Haddad.